In 2005 the Knapp and Storm towers were imploded and a tradition at Iowa State was discontinued. Shantytown was an event held at the Towers where groups of students would get together and build a "town" out of cardboard boxes in order to raise awareness for homelessness in Central Iowa. The Wallace Hall Council in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Central Iowa are coming together in order to revive this wonderful tradition. We are asking local businesses for their support in this cause.
On Friday April 3 until from approximately 5 pm until Saturday April 4 we will be putting on Shantytown. We are encouraging student groups to sign up to build individual Shantys that will be judged Friday night. In the process we will be having a Shanty Games that groups will participate in with events ranging from a water balloon fight to a three legged relay race. We are in contact with the Iowa State Athletic Department and we hope to be getting Student Athletes to come and be judges for the best Shanty. There will also be a Shanty Sheriff and a Shanty Mayor will be elected. Registered teams will be provided with food and beverages as well as cocoa for later in the evening.
At the end of the build process we will have some guest speakers that have firsthand experience with homelessness in Iowa. To finish off the evening, we will be putting on a concert featuring some local bands. In the past we have had approximately 75 students participate by building and living in Shantytown. We are hoping to equal if not exceed these totals.